Time Turners: Crash and Burn
by FluffyBlackKitten
Summary: An accident in the Department of Mysteries leaves Harry stranded in the past, 1937. There he finally learns Occlumency, makes a few deals with the Goblins, and meets up with a young Tom Riddle. May or may not be SLASH, don't like, don't read.
1. Prologue

**Time Turners: Crash and Burn**

**::**

**Prologue**

_"Expelliarmus!"_

A jet of scarlet light hurtled forward and struck Harry square in the chest, tossing him bodily into the far wall with a crack, ripping his wand from his grasp. He leaned against the wall for a moment, his world spinning, but he knew that he needed to keep moving.

Gathering his strength, Harry crawled forward on his hands and knees, ducking a curse and quickly throwing himself onto his side as a Death Eater pitched forward into an old grandfather clock above him. He didn't stick around to see what happened to the Death Eater- he needed to, _had to_, get to his wand. Spell after spell was flashing above him, his chest was heaving with the effort of dodging curses, and _God, is this really happening?_ Harry picked himself up off the floor and settled into a low crouch under a desk with a bell jar atop it. He surveyed the room- the sparkling light of the Time Room really was eerily beautiful- and through the glittering rays of light he could see his holly wand roll to a stop in front of a large cabinet.

Picking his moment carefully Harry dove forward, his fingers wrapping firmly around the wand. A warm tingle spread up his arm, and despite the chaos of the situation the corner of Harry's mouth curved upwards into a small smile.

_"Diffindo!"_ a woman shrieked to his left.

Startled from his reverie, Harry just barely had time to see and dodge the severing charm, and failed to avoid the cabinet that came crashing down on top of him when the spell struck it instead.

Trapped between the cabinet and the floor, Harry felt himself fading in and out of consciousness. Glass littered the tiles around him and a wet sticky substance from the back of his head was slowly pooling around his temple. Distantly, he could hear Hermione screaming, "No, Harry! No!" but couldn't bring himself to care, he just wanted to sleep.

**Crash and Burn**

* * *

_"Diffindo!"_

"Huh?" Harry looked around, blinking owlishly at the charm jetting towards him. Didn't this already happen? In his confusion, Harry failed to dodge the charm and it struck him dead on, slicing through his torso like a hot knife through butter. Harry was thrown backwards into the cabinet, glass shattering underneath his weight and cutting into his skin. He fell to the floor with the cabinet toppling right after him, crushing him as he bled out. Sand was leaking from the cabinet doors all around, and Harry knew he had to do something but he just couldn't make himself move. Over everything, Hermione was shouting, "No, Harry! No!" and he struggled to look up at her. The last thing he saw was Hermione's terrified face before he fell into blissful oblivion.

**Crash and Burn**

* * *

_"Diffindo!"_

This time, Harry was ready. He spun around to face his attacker, erecting a shield charm just in time. However, he had underestimated the power behind the charm, and as it hit the shield Harry was blasted backwards again. His right shoulder slammed into the side of the cabinet with a sickening crack and the whole thing toppled to the floor, the cabinet door falling open on top of him. As Harry lay on the floor of the Time Room, stunned, he felt the oddest sensation- sand trickling onto his back from above. Gathering the last of his energy, he forced his gaze upwards and to his horror he recognized the cabinet's contents: time-turners, all shattered, and all leaking sand onto his back.

"No, Harry! No!" Harry turned his horrified gaze to Hermione, and saw his own expression mirrored in hers. He knew, somehow, that things were different this time. Hermione was moving in his direction, and Harry tried to reach his hand out to her but he couldn't make his arm move. In fact, he couldn't even feel his arm. His shoulder had probably shattered on impact with the cabinet.

Suddenly everything started dissolving around him, and as Harry struggled to remain conscious he felt himself flying backward very fast, faster than he'd ever gone before. Shapes and sounds, all unidentifiable, were streaking past his vision and Harry struggled to fill his lungs in the vacuum around him.

And as suddenly as everything started, it stopped. Harry was laying on the floor of the Time Room again, but he knew that it wasn't the same Time Room he had just left. Had he gone back in time a few hours? A few days? There was no way it was any further than that, it probably wasn't even possible. A searing sensation in his shoulder pulled him back to reality and he gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut while trying to block out the pain. Maybe it would be okay if he rested here for a bit...

**TBC**

A/N: This is the prologue for my new fic. I doubt there will be more than these two fics, I'll probably go back and forth between the two. Right now I have a few ideas for TT:CAB, but updates may be slow from a combination of work and stress (definitely related to each other!). I also haven't forgotten about my other fic, I'm just a slow updater. Hope you all enjoyed it :)

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter verse belongs to those far richer than myself.


	2. Chapter 1

**Time Turners: Crash and Burn**

**::**

**Chapter 1**

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my Time Room?"

From his position on the floor, Harry looked up groggily at a blurry figure, wincing as the head movement caused his shoulder to shift.

"Well?" the figure demanded impatiently, his voice growing louder.

Harry tried to formulate a response but all that came out was a pitiful moan. He curled in on himself, taking on a fetal position. The pain was a thousand times worse than his second year when his arm was broken in the Quidditch match with the rogue bludger. Whether it was simply that his bone was shattered rather than a clean break, or the combination of the break and time travel, Harry didn't know, and honestly didn't care about at this point.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" the man all but shouted, waving his wand fiercely over Harry with several vigorous jabs in the direction of his shoulder. For a split second the pain intensified, then was muffled, then disappeared altogether.

Harry blinked several times and sat up, testing his shoulder by rolling it several times. He winced when it cramped up momentarily.

"Boy, I'm not asking you again. What are you doing in my Time Room?" This time Harry glanced up into the face of a very stern looking man, wand raised, who strongly reminded him of Snape minus the greasy hair. He even had the long hooked nose. Harry winced.

How could he possibly explain himself?

"Er… well… " he stuttered, unsure how to continue. "I think I had an accident with the Time Turners." The Snape look-alike raised a brow.

"Are you one of the new DOM recruits?" he asked, lowering his wand. "You look awfully young. More incompetent every year, just like I've been saying. But will Benjamin listen? Of course not… and it seems the tradition continues..." he said the last bit mostly to himself and turned away. Harry scowled at the implied insult.

"Sir, I am _not_ some incompetent new recruit-" the man whipped around at his words, wand once again at the ready.

"Then what are you doing here?" he demanded, his beady eyes piercing. Harry gulped.

"Well, there was a battle right before this, here at the Ministry, and the Death Eaters were trying to-"

"The what?"

"The Dark Lords followers-" Harry tried to continue.

"Boy, don't take me for a fool. The Dark Lord's followers aren't called Death Eaters! And they're on the continent now, nowhere near Britain." Harry paled. He knew he had traveled back in time, but this man made it sound like…

"Sir, what is the date?" he asked, not at all prepared for the answer.

"February 12th, 1937."

**Crash and Burn**

* * *

Harry was seated in a large, plush chair in a long oval shaped office waiting for, apparently, the Head of the Department of Mysteries. Samuel Wallace, the Snape-like man he had met in the Time Room previously, had quickly discerned that Harry had arrived from the far future and declared that he must meet the Department Head before anything else was decided, "as was protocol."

Wallace himself was currently hovering behind the plush seat, wand held loosely between his long fingers, practically daring Harry to try something. Harry, for his part, was doing his best to ignore the Snape-alike.

Harry let his mind wander back to the battle over the prophecy, and he absently brushed a finger over the glowing orb that was still secured in his pocket. The last he could remember Hermione had been alright, but where had Ron been? Was he alright? Harry thought he had seen Neville as well, but what about Ginny and Luna? It was all so fuzzy.

A tightness was building in his chest from worry at these thoughts, and he momentarily shut his eyes and clenched his jaw, trying to push away the unnecessary speculation. He shouldn't be thinking like that.

"Boy, you aren't going to sleep, are you?" Wallace asked, nudging Harry's spine with his wand.

"No, of course not!" Harry snapped, turning in his chair to face Wallace. "And my name isn't 'Boy,' it's Harry. Harry Potter."

"Potter?" asked Wallace while lowering his wand, "As in, related to Charlus Potter, the pure-blood?"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose so," said Harry, startled by Wallace's suddenly more friendly demeanor. "I never knew him, actually."

"Still, a Potter, of the pure-blood family." Wallace seemed to study Harry. "You look like him, a bit. A time traveler from the future…" He seemed to mull this over a bit before speaking again. "You shouldn't have told me that, though, wait till the Department Head gets here before saying anything else."

"Of course." Part of Harry wanted to jump back in and tell Wallace that,_ No, I'm actually a half-blood,_ _and proud of it, _but then again telling him would probably break some law of time travel or another, so he held his tongue. Besides, it seemed like Wallace was one of those blood purists, and the Department Head might have similar opinions. With Harry being completely homeless, penniless, and with no way back to 1996 that he knew of, he could use all the help he could get. Harry wasn't completely stupid.

Now that he was thinking about it, what were the opinions of the Wizarding world in… what year was it again? 1937? This was all so overwhelming. Dumbledore hadn't even defeated Grindelwald yet.

Harry was silently berating himself for not obeying Hermione when she valiantly attempted to nudge him awake during History class every Thursday when the door opened and an enormous man, with pale green eyes and a shaggy mustache entered the office.

"Samuel, my dear boy! What do we have here? Your patronus mentioned a time traveler and I came straight away! Honestly, it was the perfect excuse to get out of another one of the Minister's interdepartmental cooperation talks…" he stage whispered at the pair. The large, Vernon-sized man gave Harry an appraising look and held out a hand for Harry to shake. "I'm Benjamin Oder, the current Head of the Department of Mysteries." Oder took a seat behind the desk. "We'll just need you to give us any details about your temporal displacement that you are aware of, and we can have you home, quick as a snitch. No need for names, even the smallest thing can affect time as you must know."

_Temporal displacement? _"Uh, well, sir, to be honest I don't really know what happened. There was a battle in the Time Room-" Harry glanced quickly at Wallace and was glad to see there was none of the anger from earlier, "and I was thrown into a cabinet containing all of the Time Turners. They shattered around me and the next thing I knew Wallace was waking me up here. That's everything I know."

"Hm, well that shouldn't be a problem. We have several Time Turners here that can be used to send you home. What year did you say you were from? We'll need to set the dials to the exact date if you can remember it."

"The 18th of June. 1996," said Harry. Oder seemed to do a double take.

"1996?" he hollered incredulously. "But that's impossible!" Wallace wasn't saying anything, and when Harry glanced at him from the corner of his eye he was sporting a very small, but smug, smirk. When Wallace saw Harry looking, he winked. For some reason this made Harry angry. He did a quick mental count to ten before refocusing on the Department Head.

"Sir, I'm here so it must be possible. What was this about it being 'quick as a snitch' to send me home? I need to get back! My friends need me!" Until now, Harry had kept his cool, but he was becoming completely overwhelmed.

"But it's impossible!" Oder repeated, his eyes darting back and forth and mustache seeming to bristle. "That's… that's…" he started counting on his pudgy fingers. "59 years! The furthest ever traveled in time successfully was 4 years, 2 months, and 16 days! I worked in the Time Room before Samuel here did, it just can't be done."

"Sir- I don't care if-" Harry started angrily before he was interrupted.

"Now Benjamin, you know that I've always believed far reaching time travel was possible. Harry Potter here just proves what I've said all along." Wallace said, still sporting his little smirk. At his words, Harry suddenly wanted to take back every mean thought he'd had about the man.

"So you think it's possible to return me home?" he questioned hopefully.

"Well," Wallace said, turning to face Harry, "I'm going to be honest with you. Right now, we don't have the technology. But some of the sand from the Time Turners you brought with you will help, I hope, Benjamin and me in developing a Time Turner capable of further travel. It could take months, it could take years. But it's my greatest ambition, and I dearly want to make it happen for myself and for you."

"So, what you're saying is, as of this moment, it's impossible to get me back."

"Unfortunately, yes," said Wallace. "You should remember, however, before you get too upset, that no matter how much time passes here you will be able to return to the same moment you left." Surprisingly, these words did help. _I can still help them!,_ he thought.

"Did you say Potter?" Oder seemed to have recovered from his shock, finally, his mustache once again in it's perfect walrus whisker shape.

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Well, well, a Potter!" he seemed extraordinarily pleased by this. _Yep_, Harry confirmed mentally, _another pure-blood brown noser._ "As you know you won't be able to go around with your current surname-" Harry actually did not know this, but whatever, "so we'll need to come up with another name for you. But don't you worry m'boy! I'll still have you registered in the pure-blood registry so you can get a job in the ministry if you'd like when you finish school." _Pure-blood registry? Just what is this time period?_

"Ah, so only pure-bloods can work in the ministry in this time?" Harry questioned, as innocuously as he could.

"Of course! Well, half-bloods can hold most positions as well. Muggleborns, however, just don't understand the workings of the Wizarding world enough to work in the ministry. Don't tell me they are able to hold positions in the ministry in your time?" Oder asked in a scandalized tone.

"Well actually-" Harry started.

"Wait! You can't tell me, it could affect the future." Oder cut in quickly, still looking like he really wanted to know. "Ah, anyway, what name would you like to go by? Any name not currently part of the registry should be acceptable. We should get the registration out of the way now."

Harry thought this over carefully and finally replied, "Evans. Harry James Evans."

Oder retrieved a quill from one of the desk drawers and wrote Harry's name on some official-looking ministry parchment. "Well, Harry James Evans, there's just a few more things I need to know to get you registered! First, what is your birthday? And age."

"July 31st. I'm, um, 17," he lied. Badly.

Oder gave him a look. "I'm no master Legilimens, but that was a horrible lie. Try again, truthfully this time."

Harry heaved a sigh. "I'm turning 16 in a few weeks."

Oder looked thoughtful. "And your birthday is in July? Hmm, it's February 12th now…" Oder mulled over this information for a few minutes. "Well Mr. Evans, there's two ways we can go about this. We can either move your birthday forward on the registry, or you can be 15 for an extra 5 months. Your decision."

"Well…" Harry thought about this. July 31st _was_ his birthday, but… if he went to Hogwarts this year, having an earlier birthday would mean he'd be able to do magic legally as soon as school was out next year. That would leave only this coming summer to worry about.

That decided him.

"I'll move my birthday forward, if that's okay," he said.

"Alright." Oder said, counting on his fingers. "How about March 31st?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

Oder wrote down his new birth date on the parchment. "And place of birth?"

"Godric's Hollow, I think."

"Right. And you have black hair and…" he squinted at Harry, "green eyes. Maybe… five foot, ten inches?" Harry nodded. "We can't include your parents names, so I think that should cover it. Since you're underage, you'll officially be a ward of the ministry. They'll probably want to send you to Hogwarts. However, as a time traveler…" Oder looked excited, "You'll be in our care, here, in the Department of Mysteries!" He whipped out his wand and gave the completed parchment a tap. With a flash, it was gone.

Harry's heart sank at the realization he'd be spending time with men who would undoubtedly get along well with Lucius Malfoy. _Pureblood and proud_, he thought disparagingly.

"Until such time, that is, that your Occlumency skills can protect your mind from unwanted intrusion," Oder continued without pause. Harry's heart sank a bit further. Why couldn't he just go to Hogwarts again?

"What do you mean, Occlumency skills?" he asked.

"Well, you didn't expect us to let you run around with a mind like an open book, did you? No, it would be entirely against procedure and likely dangerous for you. There are many wizards that would kill for a glimpse of the future! Especially in times like these." He gave a dramatic shudder, and some of the rolls and his chin jiggled. "I'll be assigning one of the Department's new recruits to teach you. The longer it takes you to learn Occlumency the longer you'll be staying here, so do your best! After you successfully keep your mind protected from your tutor we can sign you up for Hogwarts to finish your education."

That's it, Harry was determined to become the best Occlumency student ever, so he could go to Hogwarts. And when he got home, to 1996, he'd totally rub it in Snape's face.

"Right. _Of course._" Harry said, still annoyed._ "_Sir, where will I be staying? I'd like to rest a bit, you know, it's been a hard day…"

"Oh, of course m'boy! Wait just a moment, your new identification card should be here any minute."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Oder shuffled some papers around his desk while Wallace still hovered unnecessarily behind Harry. Finally, with a bang, a house-elf appeared holding a white envelope and presented it to Oder.

"Mr. Benjamin Oder, sir, Tinker is bringing the identification card you requested."

"Right," he took the envelope, tearing it open and inspecting the card that was contained inside. "Prepare guest room number 3, elf, and bring Mr. Evans here a few sets of robes and other necessities. Some of the extras in the storage closet on level 8 will do." The elf nodded, wide-eyed, and disappeared with a pop.

"Here you are Mr. Evans, your identification," Oder said, handing Harry the card. "Samuel can show you to the guest room. If you need anything else, you can call for Tinker." Harry stood to leave, following after Wallace when Oder called after him, "Oh, and Mr. Evans? Drop by my office around 9 AM tomorrow for some tea. I will be introducing you to your Occlumency tutor. The sooner we start, the better!"

Harry tried to keep his face blank, fighting back the grimace he was sure was about to appear. Occlumency lessons with Snape once a week had been bad enough, but now, what- was he going to be practicing every day?_ Every hour of every day?_ With some 'incompetent,' (according to Wallace) ministry recruit? He'd probably be a drooling mess by the end of the month. No, scratch that, by the end of the _week._

_Maybe, instead of the past, the Time Turners took me to hell, _Harry thought to himself with no trace of humor whatsoever. They were walking down a darkened hallway now, with numbered doors on either side. They stopped in front of number 3.

"Here we are, your identification card should open the door for you. Just tap it on the handle, like so." He took the card and tapped it onto the handle. The door opened. "One of the house elves will bring your meals to you. They'll probably bring your dinner around 7:00 or 7:30. Any questions?" Harry shook his head and Wallace stepped back. "Alright, just remember to be on time tomorrow. Benjamin values punctuality. And no wandering through any of the Department chambers. Those are strictly off limits." He turned and strode away quickly, back the way they came.

Harry entered his new room and quickly decided he had maybe been a bit hasty in his "hell" judgement. The suite was huge, with the parlor alone being roughly the size of the Gryffindor Common Room. It sported vaulted ceilings with a crystal chandelier overhanging the center, and two large fireplaces on either side of the door. The furniture was upholstered in a soft cream, with the rest of the suite accented in gold and royal blues. There was even a full length window that appeared to show Diagon Alley, though Harry knew it must be enchanted.

The house elf, Tinker, must've already been here because a large trunk had been left in the corner, with his new initials "HJE" engraved into the lid. Opening the trunk, he found several outer robes, dress shirts and slacks, a Ravenclaw blue tie, and other grooming necessities (including a hairbrush, but Harry doubted that would be helpful). The recruits must be expected to dress nicely for work.

He carefully took the prophecy from his pocket and placed it in the bottom of his trunk. He'd figure out how to listen to it later.

"Why, hello," a voice called. Harry started and spun around, drawing his wand in one fluid motion. "Over here," the voice called again. Harry turned again and caught sight of a portrait hanging near the entrance to the bedroom. "Who are you? A new guest of the ministry, I presume?" the portrait questioned.

"Yeah, I'm Harry Po- uh, Evans. Harry Evans. I'm staying in the Department of Mysteries until I've completed Occlumency training." Harry studied the portrait. "You know, you look like someone I knew back home. Are you a Lockhart, by chance?"

"Lockhart?" The portrait seemed surprised. "Well, my youngest daughter married a muggle named Terrance Lockhart. But how could you know that?" He peered at Harry curiously.

_Uh oh, messing things up already. _"Oh, uh, maybe I just saw the announcement in the paper." He quickly changed the subject. "Why is your picture hanging here? Spying on the guests for the ministry, are you?"

"Of course not! How dare you even suggest it?" the portrait replied indignantly. "I'm Roland Darnell, Junior Undersecretary to the last Minister! A very respectable position," he huffed haughtily. "I've been placed here in case our _important_ guests need any assistance. Certainly not for spying," he said. Harry noticed the emphasis on 'important.'

He shrugged. "Well, I'm going to sort through my things… so…" he realized he couldn't exactly ask a portrait to leave, and so just turned away and started hanging his new robes and shirts in the wardrobe.

Before long a house-elf arrived with dinner, which Harry ate. It was good, but it would have been better if he'd been eating it with Ron and Hermione. With nothing else to do, Harry decided to take a shower and get some sleep.

He had a feeling tomorrow was going to be a long day.

**TBC**

A/N: So here's the first full chapter. Thank you for everyone who reviewed, and gave this story a chance. You guys are the reason I write!


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